Hey guys here's another update. It's kinda long but I figured none of you would mind since everyone seems to be enjoying it so much. Sometimes I feel like I'm going slightly OOC with Klaus, but I guess I have to since this is a different side of him. I try to keep it reigned in as much as I can
Well enough of my babble! Hope you enjoy! And p.s. there will be a bit of Fluff ;)
Caroline awoke the next morning in her room at the Salvatore house. She missed living with her mother but since this whole town war had started, it wasn't exactly safe for her to be there. For one thing she was never completely sure if her mom was on board with the whole her being a vampire now thing. And secondly, even if she was, it made it more dangerous for her mom. It wouldn't be good if the town council thought of her as a vampire sympathizer.
She threw back the covers and went over to the window. It was a gorgeous fall day. The air was starting to become crispier and the leaves showed the slightest hint of yellow and orange at the tips. Fall was on its way. The warm sun was shining down on her pale skin. She let her fingers trail through the beams. Caroline felt sorry for all of the vampires out there that didn't have witchy friends who could enable them to stand the sunlight. Then again, maybe that was a good thing, since all vampires weren't exactly nice.
Speaking of not nice vampires, Caroline was immediately reminded of her issues with Klaus. Not only their kissing but her new assignment. She needed to figure out a way to learn what he might be up to. Caroline had tossed and turned for hours about what she should do. Espionage and secrecy weren't exactly her forte.
Neither was subtlety. Eventually the idea came to her. She would do what she did best. Be un-subtle.
Caroline showered and dressed and headed downstairs. She wanted to go by her house and check on her mom and Matt. Even though Matt seemed to be perpetually mad at her, she just couldn't forget that she had once cared about him. She still did care even though it wasn't in the same way anymore. She wanted to make sure he was healing ok since he had refused to drink any of her blood the night before. Maybe after suffering through the night he would have changed his mind.
At the thought of blood Caroline could feel her throat burn and her fangs sharpen. It had been a few days since she had fed. Perhaps she would run down to the basement and grab a blood bag before heading out for the day. She should also probably text Elena and let her know where she was going in case anything happened. They all had to keep an eye out for each other even more so than usual these days.
Caroline bounced down the stairs and nearly ran into something hard. Or someone rather. Klaus. He caught her by the arms and steadied her on the landing. Caroline started and looked up at him. His steely blue eyes were dancing with wicked amusement. She felt a jolt of fear and excitement at the way his hands grasped her shoulders.
"Good morning darling," he said, the ever-present smirk painted across his face.
Caroline tried to slow her heartbeat, which should have been easy considering that it no longer beat anymore.
"Morning," she replied, stepping back once he had released her. She hadn't planned on seeing him quite so soon. But, no time like the present, she might as well start her plan now.
"Why are you here so early?" Caroline questioned.
"I'm an early riser. Just checking to make sure my doppelganger made it through the night safely. Good to see no townsfolk with pitchforks broke in while I was gone," Klaus replied coolly.
Caroline gave him an unamused look. "You know that can't happen. Bonnie took care of that for all of us."
A few days after the war had started Bonnie cast a spell around the Salvatore house as well as the Gilbert house to keep out any hostile visitors. They didn't want a repeat of the attack on Tyler.
"Oh yes, I am well aware," Klaus replied.
"Too bad she couldn't extend that spell to keep you out," Caroline shot back, brushing past him to get to the basement.
"My my Caroline, aren't we a little testy this morning?"
"Well it's just because I haven't had my breakfast yet," Caroline said yanking the basement door open. She walked down the stairs into the dark, dungeon like area, over to the deep freezer. Inside were a little less than a dozen blood bags. Caroline grabbed one and shut the freezer. It looked like they would have to make a trip to the blood bank soon and restock.
"If you're at all interested I would be willing to take you out for a real breakfast," Klaus said following her back upstairs into the living room.
"No thanks Klaus. Not interested."
"Tell me Caroline, have you ever tasted real human blood? Straight from the tap as it were?"
"Yes. Of course I have."
"So then what pray tell is the big deal? I discovered a charming little place last night where-"
"I don't feed from innocent people," Caroline replied looking him straight in the eye. Klaus waivered for a moment under her scrutiny. Not that some little baby vampire could ever make him feel any sort of guilt about his nature.
"Pity," he said regaining his early snarkiness, "you don't know what you're missing."
Caroline grinned sarcastically at him while she sipped from her blood bag. Klaus moved to her bar and poured himself a drink.
"Scotch at Nine A.M.? Really?" Caroline chided.
Klaus raised his glass in the air. "Cheers darling."
Caroline took the last sip from her bag and tossed it in the biohazard wastebasket. Even though they were all supernatural, you couldn't be too careful.
"Whatever, I have to get going," Caroline replied grabbing her purse off the couch.
"Where are you off to today dear Caroline? More errands for Damon and Elena?" Klaus took another swig finishing off his scotch.
"Actually I'm going to my mom's to check on her and Matt and grab some stuff from my house," Caroline informed him. She didn't know why she was telling him all this. He didn't care.
"Well allow me to accompany you then. It's probably not wise for you to be out on your own. Especially not after yesterday's events."
Caroline couldn't help but agree. Even if Klaus couldn't exactly be trusted to protect her, she might run less of a chance of being attacked if they were together.
"Fine," she said, "that just makes my job easier."
"What do you mean?" Klaus asked cocking his head to one side. Caroline had never seen the hybrid look confused before. It was an odd expression on him. But now was her chance to test out her "unsubtle" plan.
"Just that Elena told me to keep an extra eye on you. We all know you have some other motive for sticking around Mystic Falls other than keeping Elena safe and it's my job to figure out what it is."
Caroline hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. Hopefully, this crazy plan of hers wasn't about to backfire. Klaus smiled at her and offered a slight bow.
"Anything to make your job easier would be my pleasure," he responded.
Klaus rode with Caroline in her car to her house. He knew his hybrid would be lurking somewhere in the shadows. He hoped the stupid girl wouldn't come running up to him once he appeared. It wouldn't do him any favors to have Caroline know he had a secret agenda; although apparently it wasn't so secret.
The others were smart to be suspicious of him. Hell if they hadn't been they truly would have been more foolish than he originally thought. Klaus had to admire Caroline's spirited defiance towards him. He so hated when enemies just slunk around one another pretending. Stefan had been like that when they had been together in Chicago and he always found it so dull. He liked the open verbal sparring. The friendly hatred as it were. He doubted Caroline was trying to warn him of anything. But it greatly amused him that she just laid all of her cards on the table for him to see, so to speak.
Caroline stopped the car in her driveway and turned to him. A serious look on her face.
"You can't come in," she told him," It's my mom's house and there's no way I could convince her to invite you in." She looked down at her hands, pulling at her fingers nervously. "Even if I could I don't think it would be a good idea for you to have an invitation."
Klaus looked at her. It was quaint how just a moment ago she was spewing venom at him and now was worried about offending him. However, he didn't like seeing her nervousness. For some reason he would rather her be at ease around him. He brought his fingers to her chin and tilted her head so that her eyes met his.
"No worries love. I'll just hang out by the door."
Caroline's lip curved into a half smile. Then she turned and got out of the door. Klaus watched her unlock the door and step inside. Once the front door was shut, he got out of the car and walked towards the entrance. He looked around. He could sense his hybrid nearby, safely concealed somewhere.
Klaus didn't know much anything about Caroline's relationship with her parents. From listening to conversations between the others he learned that there was once a run in which her father had kidnapped her and tried to torture her out of her vampire habits. Even though her mother had helped saved her, apparently they had still had a tenuous relationship.
"How's Matt doing?" Klaus couldn't see anything but he could hear their conversation perfectly as if it was happening right next to him.
"He's fine. He went home this morning with fresh bandages. I told him he would be ok going to the hospital if he felt like he should," Caroline's mom answered her.
"It wouldn't even be necessary if he would have just let me give him my blood," Caroline replied.
"Caroline, Matt has his reasons."
"It's just ridiculous."
"It isn't ridiculous. You can't just expect everyone to be ok with everything all the time."
"But mom, everyone is acting insane. They're acting like we're completely different people. This entire town has known me and Elena and Bonnie and Jeremy our whole lives. And now they treat us like we're monsters."
"You are a monster," Klaus heard Caroline's mother murmur.
"Mom, you don't mean that." There was a long pause. Klaus could imagine the nervous face he saw moments ago in the car making its reappearance.
Sheriff Forbes sighed heavily. "Caroline, you're my daughter, my baby, but I can't ignore the things I've been taught all of my life. I can't ignore the fact that what you are goes against nature and all of my beliefs."
"But mom—" Caroline pleaded.
"Caroline, I think it would be best if you didn't come back here anymore. I take back my invitation. I really just don't have a choice."
A few seconds later Caroline came barreling out the front door swinging it closed to behind her. She stalked toward her car, stopping besides the driver's side door. She just stood there, staring at the roof.
Klaus walked slowly from where he had been standing by the front window over toward her. He stood behind her looking down at her back. Her shoulders sagged inward and her head hung. He reached for her, gently turning her to face him. He noticed her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked up at him. They did not spill over onto her cheeks though.
"Let's go," she said coldly, turning from his scrutinizing glance and unlocking her door.
Klaus let his hand drop and walked around to the passenger side, getting in. The car dinged as she threw it into reverse and backed out of the driveway.
"Seatbelt please," she said keeping her tear-filled eyes on the road in front of her.
Caroline's hands gripped the wheel tightly. Klaus could see her trying desperately to keep her composure. He wished there was some way that he could let her know that is would be ok to cry in front of him. But he admired her bravery. He didn't want to condescend her. She didn't say one word as they drove back to the boarding house. Neither did Klaus. He was afraid to even look at her. It was odd.
They reached the driveway and she parked the car. But instead of getting out, Caroline just sat there. Klaus finally looked over at her. She still hadn't started crying. Her hands still gripped the steering wheel as she stared off into space. Suddenly he found himself desperately wishing he could comfort her. He knew too well what it was like to have a mother that thought you were an abomination. A mother who couldn't get past the facts of your existence no matter how much it wasn't your fault. He knew what it felt like to be alone, without anyone who really cared for you. He didn't wish that for Caroline.
"My dad tried to kill me, my mom hates me, Matt dumped me, and now Tyler is dead," Caroline turned towards Klaus her eyes sad, "Will anyone ever love me again?"
Klaus watched her eyes search his for an answer. He opened his mouth to speak, but then suddenly she ran from the car and into the house, quicker than a blink of an eye. Klaus's jaw ticked. He knew exactly how she felt. He hated that her mother had caused her pain that she didn't deserve. And he hated even more that with all of his powers, he was powerless to comfort her.
Later that night Caroline sat in her room on her laptop. It was late. She had decided to have a bit of a pity party in her room with Elena and Bonnie the rest of the day. She definitely deserved it. But eventually Damon came in to bother them, which resulted in Elena being dragged away and then Bonnie went back to Jeremy's house where she had been staying. Therefore Caroline was now alone.
She hadn't seen Klaus since she came back from her mom's. She couldn't help but think she must have freaked him out with her emotional display. Now her chances with him were probably ruined. Wait, not with him with him. She didn't mean it like that. She tossed her laptop to the side of her king sized bed and flopped back dramatically. Ok, she admitted it. She was crushing. Hard.
She couldn't help it though, especially ever since that kiss. She'd gotten to know him better over the past few weeks and the truth was, he wasn't so bad. Sure he had done bad things, but so had Damon. Damon had done plenty of bad stuff but it turned out that he really did have a tarnished heart of gold. So why couldn't the same be said of Klaus? Maybe that side just hadn't been fully uncovered.
They truth was, after the ordeal with her mom that day she had wished Klaus had been the one to cheer her up. Which was silly because even if Klaus did care about her that way, he wasn't really the cheer up kind of guy. It wouldn't really be like with Tyler. Whenever she felt bad, Tyler would be there with open arms, ready to console her until she fell asleep. She missed that.
Just then she heard a knock at her door. "Come in," Caroline groaned, sitting up.
The door creaked open to reveal Klaus. He had a white bag in his hand and an unusually timid smile on his face.
"Good evening Caroline," he said crossing the threshold into her room.
"Klaus," Caroline shot up to her knees, "what are you doing here?"
Klaus entered her room and shut the door behind him. Caroline glanced down at herself, feeling a little embarrassed. She was already in her pajamas; a tank top and some printed shorts. Klaus was looking impeccably disheveled as always in his long sleeve t-shirt and distressed jeans.
"I've brought you a little present darling," he explained presenting her with the white paper bag he had in his hand.
Caroline took it from him, eyeing him suspiciously. She could only imagine what kind of "present" he would bring her. She looked down into the bag. Her eyes widened in surprised and her jaw dropped. She glanced back up at Klaus who was grinning; clearly pleased with himself.
"You brought me French fries?" She managed to sputter.
"Yes. From the next town over. Completely greasy and completely vervain free."
Caroline dropped back on her heals. She was touched. It was such a thoughtful gesture. "Why do you go to all that trouble?"
"Well not to much trouble. You mentioned them yesterday at The Grill. I thought they might cheer you up a bit after today's events."
Caroline smiled. She couldn't believe it. First of all that he remembered something she had mentioned in passing the day before and secondly that Klaus had done something nice. For her.
"Thank you," she replied, reaching her delicate hand into the bag and pulling out a single fry. She popped it into her mouth and groaned in satisfaction. "Mmm, so good! Do you want one?"
Klaus held his hand up and shook his read. "No, none for me."
Caroline grabbed a fry from the bag and slid off the bed to stand in front of him.
"Come on, just one. Or are you trying to watch your girlish figure?" Her eyes mocked him playfully.
He chuckled. "No, I don't eat food. Remember?"
"Oh one won't hurt. I promise you won't regret it." She swirled the fry in front of his mouth. Klaus watched her in amusement. She was teasing him. He couldn't remember ever being teased by anyone.
The slight opening of his mouth was all it took for Caroline to quickly slide the fry past his lips. Her fingers lingered there for a mere moment. She shivered at the contact of his soft lips on her index finger.
Klaus could taste the saltiness of the food. It did taste better than he remembered. Not as good as a fresh vein, but still quite palatable. But his thoughts were less on the food in his mouth and more on the brief contact just a moment ago. Her fingers on his mouth awakened a different hunger in him that neither French-fries, nor blood, could satisfy.
He watched her back away nervously and slink back towards her bed. In those tiny shorts that showed off her perfect, creamy legs, stopping just below her bum. Thanks to those tiny pajamas, Klaus could see her every perfect curve. He silently thanked whoever was responsible for modern woman's sleepwear.
"I was gonna watch a movie, do you wanna hang out for a bit?"
Caroline was asking him to "hang out". That was another first. Klaus suddenly felt weird. No. This was too much. Too much niceness. Going across the state to bring Caroline French fries, cheering her up, eating food, staring at her bum. No no no. He did not do things like this. Especially not with someone who was his enemy. So Klaus did the only thing he could think of to do.
"I would love to," he said with a smile. He kicked off his shoes and settled down on the bed. Caroline smiled and walked over to put in a dvd. She carried the remote control back with her and lay down on the bed next to him.
"We're watching Casablanca. Sorry if it's too girly for you but since I'm the one that's sad, I get to pick the movie," Caroline said making herself comfortable.
Klaus shrugged. "I've seen it. Rebecca dragged me to it in 1942. Not bad."
"Where is Rebecca these days anyways," Caroline asked nibbling on another French fry.
"She's not very happy with me which, I'm sure you're aware of since she was a part of your friends' latest plot to kill me," Klaus peered at Caroline who looked completely unapologetic. That pleased him for some reason. "I'm sure she'll make an appearance eventually to let me know just how frustrated she is with me."
Caroline nodded and handed him a fry. "Maybe you could use a few more of these then too." Klaus lip twitched upwards as he accepted the food from her. "I guess we both know what it's like to have our families hate us."
With that Caroline turned her attention towards the television and continued eating her French fries. It was true. Even though Caroline's situation was a bit different from Klaus's, he still understood how she felt. Perhaps she could understand how he felt. How he had always felt alone in the world, not being loved by his mother or father, being distrusted by his siblings. It was true what Mikael had said. No one was really loyal to him by choice: it was only out of fear or obligation. Even now that he had his hybrids and Mikael was dead he didn't feel truly happy.
He looked over at the blonde girl sitting next to him. It was probably a good thing Klaus had seen the movie before since his attention was mostly on Caroline. She nibbled her fries and smiled wistfully at the story on the screen. He didn't know much about her but what he did know gave him a measure of hope. Could this girl see something in him? Even though he was a deceptive, murderer who all of her friends hated. Could she fill the gap in his life?
There was another knock at the door. Caroline shot up from her relaxed position.
"Who is it?" She called.
"It's Elena."
"Shoot," she muttered quietly to herself. She turned to Klaus and whispered. "Sit here, don't move and don't make any noise." She got up and padded to the door, opening only enough so her head could stick out and Klaus's presence stayed concealed.
The hope that Klaus had felt only a moment ago faded. She couldn't fill the gap. They couldn't have any kind of relationship, friendship or otherwise, because Caroline's friends would never accept it. He would put a stop to these feelings now. Whatever they were. No more surprise presents and "hanging out" after tonight. This would just be a one off.
Caroline shut the door quietly and climbed back into the bed.
"Sorry," she said cozying up next to him, "I just don't want to deal with any arguments over you being here right now."
Klaus just nodded but kept his eyes on the movie. It was decided; after tonight, no more Caroline.
Hope you guys liked! Feel free to reviews. I should be updating again fairly soon, since I have almost all the story written. I'm actually finishing up the last couple of chapters now. Am I updating too quickly for you guys? How often do you other authors out there usually update your stories. Let me know!